FEDERICO! Mendoza Malbec Discovery!
February 12, 2007
Serrendipity! Sometimes that's just what it
is....
We were staying for two nights at Finca
Adalgisa, a lovely B & B in a small vineyard setting in the
village of Chacras de Corias situated just south from the city of
Mendoza in Argentina. Finca Adalgisa actually doubles as a working winery
on the smallest of scale. We decided to take the 3 minute tour,
after which we purchased a bottle of their cool rosada (rosé) to accompany
a most generously endowed charcuterie board. This was pure
delight while we sat amongst the old Malbec vines on this warm summer
evening. In fact, the meats and cheeses destroyed our dinner plans, but I
decided to wander down the street to check out a small wine shop for another
bottle to enjoy later in the evening. Good! I thought as I walked
into this humble little corner store. Air conditioning! But
look at all of these wine! It is really a humbling experience when you
travel to a foreign wine producing region for the first time and realize your
knowledge is dependent upon what has been exported to your own
market....and your faltering memory. Sure, some producers are
recognizable, and you take great comfort in mentally checking them off. But
the majority of the wines are one big mystery. The language barrier makes
matters worse. And you better know how to decipher a label. So, you
kind of feel like a beginner again, which is disconcerting after some 30 plus
years of professional experience in the wine trade. You know the
problem! Which bottle should you choose? It's a good exercise
to remind one's self, if you are a wine merchant; so you can relate better
to first time customers who wander into your own store.
Anyway, of course I wanted something not familar
to me, so after much indecisiveness (I felt like a real idiot), I decided to
pull the trigger and make that big executive decision on a bottle of Familia Cassone Malbec Reserva.....I felt lucky to find a
dusty forgotten bottle of the 03 vintage beneath a
stack of the 2004. I paid about $45 peso....or 15 American dollars.
I guess I was impressed by the wording Obra Prima on
the label. I don't know...it means "first piece of work" When I returned
to our room I let the wine cool down a little more in the refrigerator.
With no expectations, when I opened the bottle a little later, I knew
immediately I had hit the mother lode! Renee was asleep on the couch and I
dared to wake her to share my find! As it turns out, the 2003 Familia Cassone Malbec Reserva Obra Prima was one
of the most exciting wine discoveries of the entire trip. What
luck! The wine comes from 90+ year old Malbec vines, grown in the
family's vineyard at 3116 foot elevation, in the Mayor Drummond district of the
Lujan de Cuyo, widely acknowledged (by those who know!) as the perfect spot for
Malbec. This was "real" wine from distinctive terroir!
Unmistakably Malbec. A wine with complex aromas and flavors of red,
black and bluish berries, but with an underlying savory complexity. A
definite grainy tannic edge, but coexisting with a refinement and
suppleness. Hints of chocolate, cedar, cigar humidor. Full, intense,
and compelling in the mouth. I could feel this Malbec sear a
trail deep into my palate memory.
Not to digress.... "Malbec", one of
the five principle grape varietals grown to produce Bordeaux (Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Six, if you
historically include Carmenere.) I always say, if you like
Cabernet Sauvignon, then you will like Argentine Malbec! With
the wave of European immigrants that flooded South America in the
middle 1800's, Malbec was introduced to Argentina in
1868 by the French "agricultural engineer" Michel
Pouget. The very best examples of Malbec wines come from the
Mendoza region of Argentina. Mendoza is one of 23 provinces of Argentina,
located in the western central part of the country in the Cujo region. The
region is nestled up against the Andes Mountain range with vineyards
ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 feet in elevation. The city of Mendoza has a
population of 1,700,000 residents and is about 650 miles from
Buenos Aires or 220 miles from Santiago, Chile.
The next morning we had to get up early for a
special meeting and barrel tasting with Santiago Achaval of Achaval
Ferrer. So our focus was intent on being on time, and finding his new
winery.....not an easy chore! More on that in an
upcoming e-mail. But, I remember commenting a couple of times about
the Cassone Malbec, and how it was too bad we did not know about it sooner, or
trying to find a way to locate the winery and schedule an appointment.
When we returned to Finca Adalgisa in the early afternoon we decided to walk
down the road into the village plaza and look for a lunch place. The
sleepy little town seemed deserted on this week day, as
there were very few pedestrians or cars
on the road. We did not see anything open or very appealing, and
speculated that everyone must be a work in the city or on holiday. After
walking past the plaza, over a foot bridge, and down a side street, I spied a
little cafe in the coner of a small complex of closed shops. It was open,
and after a little coaxing I convinced a hungry Renee that this was our
only salvation. Cafe Flora was a cute place with an outside
patio, but she was hoping for more than sandwiches and salads. We took one
of the outside tables and perused the menu and wine list. I ordered a
roast pork sandwich with carmelized apples and onions and Renee had a speciality
salad. Another rosada sounded good as it was too hot outside to drink red
wine and it wouldn't work with our selections. Look here! Famila
Cassone Obra Prima was on the short list with a Cabernet
Sauvignon rosado. Perfect!! Ah! The wine
was very floral, fruity and delicious, crisp and
refreshing. This nice looking man walked past our table a few times
and seem interested in what we were drinking. Then Federico came up to the
table and introduced himself and said, "Oh, how do you like my
wine?" "This is my family's winery and I am the winemaker." YOU HAVE
GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! I think Renee and I said this in
unison! Federico continued, "Yes, yes! I am here helping my
wife today, She is the chef here at our little restaurant. We opened about
3 months ago and I like to help out when I can." My god, we drank your
wonderful Malbec last night I exclaimed. And then I went into great
length to tell him how I happened on a bottle of his
2003.
Well, the rest is history! His wife came out
of the kitchen! We are new friends (see just posted photographs at
the webstore). Federico did graduate work at UC Berkeley (we are
fellow alums), lived in Davis, and worked at Pine Ridge in Napa Valley.
Since our return, Federico and I have been e-mailing back and
forth. His wines are not distributed here, but guess
what?.....arrangements have been made, and in the next ten days I should take
delivery on a limited amount of the 2003....that's correct, not the 2004, but
the very same 2003 Familia Cassone Malbec Reserva Obra Prima I found in the
little village store.
So let this e-mail serve as a "presale" - let me know the very best possible amount you would like to
purchase.....and who knows? Federico and I will do
our best to make you happy!
OH!! This wine should be about $20+ in the
American market. As a matter of fact, in my latest research on this
wine, I uncovered a nice review and top value honors by the Wine
Spectator:
SMART BUYS - #1
TOP VALUES IN ARGENTINE MALBEC (Wine Spectator, November -
2006)
Score: 91 points
Ripe and flashy, with lots of black and purple fruits
layered with plenty of mocha, spice and mineral notes. Long, racy
finish pumps out
fig paste, mesquite and briar flavors. Impressive. Drink now through 2008.
- j.m. - Wine Spectator, August
2006
ORDER NOW AT $17.95 A BOTTLE - JUST REPLY DIRECTLY TO THIS
E-MAIL.
ALL ORDER WILL BE CONFIRMED BY E-MAIL WITH INVOICE
ATTACHED FOR YOUR REVIEW.
JUST POSTED: First in a series of travel
photographs from Argentine, Mendoza, AND Renee's latest recipe for her
version Ribolitta > click on these page under
"Features" at www.thewineconsultant.com
Eric Stumpf
The Wine Consultant
8039 Greenback Lane
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
(916) 721-WINE (9563)
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